1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a loosely coupled network of electronic devices. In particular, the present invention relates to a method, system, and program for utilizing vibration waves as the coupling and driving mechanism for a network of localized devices.
2. Description of Related Art
As electronic devices become more pervasive in our everyday lives there is a corresponding need for these electronic devices to interact with each other. Such interaction requires the electronic devices to be connected in a network, such that information may be exchanged among them.
There are a variety of known methods for connecting electronic devices. For example, special dedicated wires could be installed within a household or an office to provide a communication medium among electronic devices such as personal computer (PC) systems, lights, alarms, etc. For existing electrical infrastructures, this is an expensive proposition. Dedicated wiring or optical cabling also presents added difficulty and expense when adding new devices to the network. It should be noted that utilizing existing wiring to “piggy-back” signals onto power supply lines presents similar system inflexibility problems as the dedicated lines.
An air interface signal medium provides greater flexibility and modularity than wire-based connectivity. A wireless network provides maximum modularity and flexibility for a loosely coupled intelligent network. Infrared or other “light” signals are not well suited for communication applications since they are limited to line-of-sight and would require a omni-directional transceivers.
Radio frequency (RF) signals are less easily blocked than light signals and have been successfully utilized for variety of wireless communication applications. In addition, RF-based communications systems are commonly utilized for providing a flexible transmission interface for a variety of communication devices such as AM and FM radios, wireless household telephones, cellular telephones, etc. A problem related to RF signaling is that of electromagnetic interference (EMI) that all electrical circuits inherently generate. Due to the pervasiveness of RF signaling, additional costly overhead is required to implement an RF-driven network for household or office use.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a wireless, low-cost communication interface for sharing information among multiple localized electronic devices.